Machine for producing and clearance of piston-rings.



R. B WASSON.

MACHINE FOR PRODUCING END CLEARANCE 0F PISTON RINGS.

' APPLICATION FILED MAR. 24.19I5- 1 fifi lflifil m Patented Apr, 30, 1918.

4 SHEETS-SHEET I fwitmeooaa: W vwawtoz R. B. WASSQN. MACHINE FOR PROQUCING END CLEARANCE OF PISTON RINGS. APPLICA'HON FILED MAR. 24 1916.

MNNAN W Patented Apr. 30, 1918.

' 4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

x -1 1 m 1 J jw Wamvewfoz I R. B. WASSON.

MACHINE FOR PRODUCING END CLEARANCE 0F PISTON RINGS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR-24.19%.

l 6%Q I Patented Apr, 30, 1918.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

R. B. VVASSON.

MACHINE FOR PRODUCING END CLEARANCE 0F PISTON RINGS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 24. 191a @164M 1 m Patented Apr. 30, 1918.

4 $HEETS-SHEET 4.

qt era rne rues ie cs.

ROBERT B. WASSON, 0F CRANFORD, NEW JERSEY.

MACHINE FOR riaonucms END CLEARANCE or risrou-arues.

meager.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, Bonner B. Vl AssoN, a citizen of the United States, residing in Cranford, Union county, State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful improvements in Machines for Producing En d Clearance of Piston-Rings, of which the following is a specification.

The object of this invention is a machine for producing an approximately predeterinined end clearance in piston rings of internal combustion and other engines. It will'be understood that these rings are divided and have their ends separated by a substantial distance, and that in order to introduce them within the cylinder it is necessary to compress them, thereby causing their ends to approach. Under working conditions, the rings become heated and expand, thereby bringing their ends still closer together. Itis essential, however, that the ends do not bear against each other, because this would cause the ring to press with undue force againstthe confining cylinder wall, causing unnecessary wear and. loss of power, and eventually destroying the bore of the cylinder. On theother hand, it is important that any space between the ends of the rings when performing their functions be as little as possible, in order to avoid unnecessary loss of compression of the charges through "leakage. The theoretically ideal condition would be one in which the ring ends under working conditions would barely touch without pressure.

Because of unavoidable variations in ma-' chinery and operations in the engines themselves, however, it is impossible to realize this condition. It is, therefore, necessary to prov1de the rings with an amount ofend clearance sufiicient to insure that in spite.

of variations the ends of the rings when in use will not touch. For the reason given, however, the clearance should be no larger than is'necessary to take care of all the possible factors. The first factor which may be considered is the maximum linear heat expansion of the ring wvher1 the engine is running. Another factor is variation in the diameters of the rings, forv it is obvious that a ring which is finishedof somewhat darge external diameter than another, other things being equal, will have to be compressed more in getting it into-the cylinder and therefore have its ends brought closer together than Specification of Letters Patent.

the average working condition.

Patented a so, was.

Application filed March 24, 1916. Serial No. 86,876.

will be the case with the other, slightly smaller ring. Manifestly, also, if the bore of the cylinder is slightly larger or smaller than normal, the degree of approach of the ring ends will be affected. The possible variations may be compensative or additive, but the latter condition must be assumed and provided for, and in addition a further reasonable allowance must be made as a factor of safety. The actual amount of clearance to satisfy these requirements uat urally differs for different sizes of rings, but may be ascertained in any particular case. The present machine affords the means for providing an approximately exact end clearance in rings of a given size or given range of sizes. Furthermore, the trimming of ends of'the rings is performed by a tool of such form that the endfaees of the rings are substantially parallel under The machine disclosed herein is designed for carryingout the method constituting the sub ject-matter' of (o-pending application filed even date herewith, Serial No. 86,377. The particular machine disclosed herein is adapted to operate upon rings in which the ends are cut obliquely, but the invention is not necessarily'so limited. The preferred embodimentrof the machine will now' be briefly described, but it is understood that the invention is not confined to the precise construction shown and that numerous changes,

omissions, additions and reversals Within r the scope of the appended claims are per- Fig. 4: is a, vertical section'taken in the plane of' the axis of the cutter, parts at the center being-shown-in elevation; i

Fig. 5 is a semi-diagrammatic side view illustrating the relation of the ring, tliencutter and the gage, at the commencement of operations; p 1 p ,Fig. 6V is a view of the same parts,shoW

till

e al which is internally threaded so that it may be slntted along asc'rew rod ill i' monnted m lugs 37 on the frainei'nece .16. This 1S'VRC- complished by applying a wrench to a hex;

29 has a similaradjustable mounting on a bushing llon its screw-threaded rod 4-2.

to insert a ring a in the holder, the clamping screw 17 is eased off. .'.lhe catch 32 is swung out of engaging position, and the arm 15 with the clamp 12 a re then moved away from the chuck. The ring tobe operated uponis then introduced into the seat in the chuck 11, the arm 15 is 'ung toward the ehucluthe catch 29 is engaged with the lip 30, and then by turning the screw 17 the ring is pressed against the seat and at the same time the reaction locks the lip 30 against the hook of the catch '29. i A in the embodiment of the invention illustrated, the tool 10 consists of a rotary milling; cutter, which tapers from its central portion to the periphery and is provided on both sides with cutting edges 4-3, so to operate simultaneouslyupon both ends of a ring. Cutting edges at are also preferably formed on the periphery of the disk, since its thickness at'the circun'iterence may be greater than the distai'lce between the ends of the ring in the holder. The taper ing of the cutter is for tho-purpose of leavinf-g; the ends of the ring; at such an angle that, when the ring: is confined under average working conditions, the end faces will be substantially parallel. Thespecitio angle of the cutter to secure this result should be varied for different sizes of rings.

The cutter disk is mounted on the end of a shaft libcaring at its opposite ends fast and loose pulleys 453 and for the recep- 'tion of a driving bolt. i The shaft is journalcd by means of cone bearings 46 in corresponding bushings 4:7 within a housing 48 secured to the bed. ,One of these bushings has thrtaided, engagement with the housing at ll) in order that it may be advanced to take up wean and is adapted to be locked by a nut 50. The cutter is held on the projecting end of the shaft between nuts 51 and which permit the position of the cutter on the shaft to be adjusted in referonce to a page 53.- The latter stands in front of the edge of the cutter, where it operates upon the ring, and is therefore adapted to cntcr e latter in advance of the cutter, is g'et'erably formed by a ting. which is thinner than the edge oi the cutter and is applied by screws 5-1 to the lace oi the housing 4th in the inanulhctureoi a ringwl'icrciu the solid ringis s 'il tand hammered, as in my Patent l lo. 1,009,000,-dated Novemberl i,

,1911, .thecnds of the ring separate and may also be left inya somewhat unfinished conditionqso that on being compressed to the working diameter these ends are not quite parallel. This condition may be corrected by the present machine In order to enable the machine to operate upon rings which are cut at an angle (usually at, an angle of 30), the ring-holding means and the cutter are disposed in planes which are oblique to each other. Preferably the cutter is vertical as shown, while the ring chuck and clamp 'are mounted at an appropriate inclination on the feed carriage 8. i p

in the operation of the machine it is desiable for accurate work. that the center of the diameter of the ring, the center of thickness of the ring and the center of thick ness of the cutter be alined with the direction of the feeding; movement- This is pro vided-tor in this machine by the two relative adjiiistments between the cutter and ring-holder at right angles to the movement of the slide carriage 8.

Suitable means are provided for efiecting the feeding movement of the carriages. In the particular construction shown a hand lever 55 is fulcrumed at 56 on the bed 1 and connected by a slot in one of itsends with a pin 57 held in a clevis 58 secured to one end of the carriage. With a tapered cut ter the amount of metal which is removed from the ring in providing the end clearance is determined in part by the extent of the feeding movement. it or this reason a stop 59, conveniently in the form of a screw having a lock nut 60, is provided so as to terminate the forward teed movement at an exactly predetermined point.

To operate the machine the feed carriage 8 is withdrawn from the cutter, the clamp 12 is moved with the arm 15 outward from the chuck, a ring is inserted in the chuck with its opening opposite the entrance 33, the arm 15 is swung backinto place, and "the clamp torcedhome against, the rin Before this is done, the opening in the ring is accurately positioned opposite the cutter by means of the gage 53, which enters the open ing as shown in Figs. 5 and 6. The carriage is now advanced in order to feed the open portion of the ring against the rapidly revolving cutter. The latter removes a small amount of metal simultaneously from both ends, the width of the resulting end clearance depending upon the following factors, namely, the internal diameter of the ring seat of the chuck (which determines the distance between the ring ends before the cutter is brought into action), the angle and thickness oi? the cutter, and the extentoi' the feeding movement as determined by the stop The diameter. of the ring seat, it may by adjusting the be noted, must be somewhat greater than the cylinder bore for which the ring is designed, since otherwise the cutter would have to be too thin to be practicable. There must, however, be a relation between the factors indicated, in order that the proper amount of metal may be removed. Naturally, any one of the factors may be varied, compensating variations being made. in the others, and, of course, the precise proportions will have to be changed to suit different sizes of rings. The desired amount of metal having been removed, the feed carriage. is returned to its starting position, the corrected ring is removed, and a fresh one inserted preparatory to being advanced against the cutter.

The machine may be easily adjusted to operate upon rings of different sizes by changing the chuck and cutter, of which a. series will preferably be provided with each machine. The same cutter may be used for producing end clearance in different sizes of rings. if eventual parallelism between the faces of the clearance slot is not required. For any given size of-ring. a greater amount of end clearance may be produced stop 59 so as to permit of a greater or less degree of feeding movement, that is to say to cause the cutter to pass into the interior of the ring a greater or less distance.

\Vhat I claim as new is:

1. A machine for producing end clearance of divided piston rings, comprising a chuck and means for clamping a divided ring unyieldingly therein. at a predetermined degree of confinement, means adapted to operate between the ends of the ring to remove metal the. efrom, and means for producing accurate relative feed between said metalremoving means and ring-chuck.

2. A machine for producing end clearance of piston rings, comprising a chuck and v means for clamping a divided ring unyieldingly therein at a predetermined degree of confinement, and mechanism for operating at both ends of the ring sin'iultancously to produce an approximately predetermined clearance therebetween.

3. In a machine for producing end clearance of piston rings, the combination of a chuck having a ring seat of predetermined diameter, a ring-clamping membe' adapted to act outwardly upon the ring, a tapered cutter adapted to operate upon the ends of the ring, means for driving the cutter, means for relatively feeding the cutterand ringholder, and means for accurately determining the amount of such feed.

it. In a. machine for producing end clearance of piston rings, the combination of a chuck and meansfor clamping a divided ring unyieldingly therein at a predetermined degree of confinement, the chuck having an entrance through its side, a driven ring against movement or less cutter disk adapted to operate through said entrance between the ends of the ring, and means for producing accurate relative feed between the ring-chuck and disk.

A machine for producing end clearance of piston rings, comprising the combination of a chuck and means for clamping a divided ring against movement therein and with a predetermined degree of confinement, and a. driven cutter having cutting edges upon both side faces to operate between the ends of the ring.

(3. In a. machine for producing end clcarance of piston rings, the combination of a, chuck and means for clamping av divided ring against n'iovement therein and with a. predetern'iincd degree of confinement, and a tapered rotary disk having cutting edges on the side faces adapted to operate upon both ends of the ring sin'mltaneously.

'7. In a machine for producing end clearance of piston rings, the combination of a chuck and means 'for clamping a divided therein and with a predetermined degree of. confinement, a driven tool adapted to ope ate upon the ends of the ring, and a gage opposite the edge of the tool to aline. the opening in the ring therewith.

8. In a'machine for producing end clearance of piston rings, the combination of a chuck and means for clamping a. divided ring against movement therein and with a. predetermined degree of confinement, a driven tool adapted to operate upon the ends of the ring, means for relatively feeding the tool and ring-chuck, means for accurately determining the amount of such feed, and a gage mounted with and in front of the tool to enter the opening in the ring.

9. Annachine for producingend clearance of piston rings comprising the combination of a chuck and means for cla1uping a divided ring against movement therein and with a. predetermined degree of coilfinement and a cutter having a. predelcu mined taper for removing metal from the ends of the ring so that the ends of the riu when compressed will allel.

10. A machine for producinp cnd clear ance of piston rings comprising the coin bination of a chuck and means for clamping a divided ring against movement therein" and with a predetermined degree of oniincment, a gage entering the opening of the ring, and a cutter having a predetermined taper for removing metal from the ends of the ring so that the ends of the ring when compressed Will be substantially parallel.

11. In a. machine for producing end clearance of piston rings, the combination of a chuck and means for clamping a divided ring against movement therein and with a predtermined degree of confinement, a.

be substantially parfeed.

meager driven cutter adapted to operate upon the ends of the ring, means for relatively feed.

ing the ring-chuck and cutter, means for accurately determining the amount of such feed and means for alining thecenters of the ring and cutter with the direction of In a machine for producing end clearance of plston rings, the combination of a chuck and means for clamping a divided ring unyieldingly therein at a predetermined degree of confinement, a driven cutter adapted to operate upon the ends of the ring, means for producing accurate relative feed between the ring chuck and cutter, and means for producing relative adjustment between the ring-chuck and cutter in two directions at right angles to each other and tovthe direction of the feed.

13. In a machine for producing end clearance of piston rings, the combination of a holder adapted to hold a ring at a predetermined degree of confinement, a rotary driven disk adapted to operate between the ends of the ring, said disk and ringvheld by said holder being oblique to each other, means for producing accurate relative feed between the disk and ring-holder, and means for relatively adjustingthe ringholder and disk at right angles to the direction of feed.

-14. In a machine for producing end clearance of piston rings, the combination of a holder adapted to hold a ring at a predetermined degree of confinement, a tapered tool ring,

tween the ring-holder'and tool, and means adapted to operate between the ends of the means for producing relative feed be for predeterminedly limiting said feed.

J 15. In a machine for producing end clearance of piston rings, the combination with a tool adapted to operate in the opening of of, of a table, afeed a ring to remove metal from the ends therecarriage movable on and relatively to the table toward and from the ance of piston rings,

said tool, means for accurately determining the amount of feed, a chuck on said carriage and means for clamping the ring unyieldingly therein at a predetermined degree of confinement, and me'ans for-adjusting said table at right angles to the movement. I

16'. In a machine for producing end clearthe combination ofa rotary driven cutter having lateral cutting edges, a table, a feed carriage movable on and relatively to the table toward and from the said cutter, means for accurately deterfeed, a chuck on said carriage and means for clamping a ring unyieldingly-therein at a predetermined degree of confinement, and independent means for adjusting said table ver tically and horizontally, transversely of the direction of feed.

17 In a machine for producing end clearing a chuck direction of feed position,

prising a chuck determined size, ring to the sald seat comprising a-movable anceof piston rings, the combination with a member adapted to operate in the opening of a ring -to remove metal from the ends thereof, of a holder for the ring comprising a chuck having a ring seat of predetermined size, and'a conical clampadapted to enter the ring and hold the same against the saidseat. i v

18. In a machine for producing end clearance of piston rings, the combination with a member adapted to operate in the opening of a ring to remove metal from the ends thereof, of a holder for the ringlcomprishaving a ring seat of predetermined size, a conical cl'amp adapted to enter the ring and hold the same against the said seat, and means for supporting said clamp. W1th freedom to find its own center in the a member adapted to operate in the open,

a rlng to remove metal from the ends,

ing of thereof. of a holder for the ring comprisa ing a chuck having a ring seat 'of predetermined size, and means for holding a r ng to the said seat comprising a conical clamp,

said clamp, and a movable support for the.

into and out of operative position.

a spindle having a spherical bearing for 20. In a machine for producing endclea rance of piston rings, the combination with a member adapted to operate in the ope11- ing of aring to remove metal from the ends thereof, of a holder for the ring comprising a chuck terniined size, and means for holding a ring to the said seat comprising a clamp, a hinged support for the clamp enabling the same having a ring seatof prede v to be moved into and out of operative position, and means for forcing the clamp against the ring.

21. vIn a machine for producing end clearance of piston rings, the combination with a member adapted to operate in the opening of a ring to remove metal from the ends thereof, of a holder for the ring comprising a chuck having a ring seat of predetermined siz e, and means for holding a ring to the said seat comprising a clamp, a hinged support for the clamp enabling the same to be moved into and out of operative means for locking the said support,' and means for forcing the clamp against the-ring.

22. In a machine for producing end clearance of piston rings, the combination with a member adapted to operate in the opening of a ring to remove metal from the ends thereof, of a holder for the ring comhaving a ring seat of preand means for holding a aims of piston rin with a ring clamp on the spindle, and screw means acting upon the spindle for forcing the clamp against the ring.

23. In a machine for producing end clearc, the combination With a member adapted to operate in the opening of a ring to remove metal from the ends thereof, of a holder for the ring comprising a chuck having a ring seat of predetermined size, and means for holding a ring to the said seat, comprising a hinged support, a latch for holding said support in operative position, a screw-operated spindle on the support, and a conical clamp having a spheri-' cal bearing on the spindle.

26L In a. machine for producing end piston rings, the combination with a member adapted to operate in the opening of a ring to remove metal from the ends thereof, of a holder for the ring comprising a removable chuck provided seat, means for holding a ring to the said seat comprising a conical clamp, a movable support enabling the said clamp to be moved into and out of operative position, and means for adjusting said support transversely With relation to the chuck.

25. In a machine of the character described, the combination with a tapered tool adapted to operate between the ends of an open rim, and means for driving the tool, of a chuck having a seat for the ring and an entrance for the tool, and a clamp for an entrance for the tool,

forcing the ring outwardly against said sea t and also formed to permit the entrance oi. the tool.

26. In a machine of the character described, the combination with a Tapered tool adapted to operate between the ends of an open ring, and means for driring the tool, of a chuck having a seat for the ring and an entrance for the tool, a clamp for forcing the ring outward lyagainst said seat and also formed to permit the entrance of the tool, and means to'prevent the clamp from turning about its axis.

. In a machine of adapted to operate between the ends of an open rim and means for driving the tool, of a chuck having a seat for the ring and a clamp for forcring outwardly against said seat formed to permit the entrance of a movable support For the clamp including a spindle on which the clamp is mounted, and means to prevent the clamp from turning;

In testimony \VllGlGl I have signed a I name to this specification, in the prbsence of two subscribing witnesses.

ROBERT B. WASSUN.

ing the and also the tool,

Witnesses 7 R. R. .Zn Him, ltfa'r'rin A. Borrsnwoa'rn.

the character dc scribed, the combination with a tapered tool 

